EBay claims 200 million users worldwide

EBay's largest markets are the US, the UK, Germany and South Korea

Auction giant eBay has claimed that its online auction sites now have 200 million registered users.

Chief executive Meg Whitman said at the company's annual user conference in Las Vegas that eBay had achieved a "milestone".

Whitman added that its subscribers would represent the fifth largest country in the world if they were to form a nation.

EBay reported 192.9 million registered users globally as of 31 March 2006, and 75.4 million "active" users in the March quarter.

The figures exclude eBay's Rent.com and Shopping.com sites, and its online classified advertising sites.

EBay's largest markets are the US, the UK, Germany and South Korea.